Pakistan Rugby Union

Rugby in ‘Pakistan goes as far back as 1925 when the Karachi Rugby Football Union was formed. The game remained exclusively an expatriate sport, with KRFU being active on the All-India circuit up till the late fifties. In 1968/1969, fortunately, a handful of local players were introduced into the club. By the mid-seventies, the British Navy reduced its presence in the Indian Ocean and port visits became infrequent, and by the early eighties, Rugby had become almost non-existent. The Karachi Rugby Football Union continued to play, yet due to limited funds it was unable to travel abroad for matches and suffered from a lack of opposing teams to play within the country.

The interest in Rugby was rejuvenated in the nineties by a combination of passion and commitment of the local players who had been introduced to the game in the seventies and some addition in the expatriate presence. Whilst some experienced local players established clubs in Lahore and Karachi, staff from foreign embassies and banks, consisting of French, British, and Americans ( who got introduced to the game living in Asia ), established a club in Islamabad. 1992 onwards has seen regular fixtures between teams from these cities.

The Pakistan Rugby Union was formed in 2000 as the representative of the Sport in Pakistan. Currently, it is a full member of the World Rugby, Asia Rugby, The Pakistan Olympic Association and recognised as the Governing body of the sport by the Pakistan Sports Board.

Currently, Pakistan Rugby has put its efforts into Growing the Game domestically and is one of the most active unions in the World Rugby’s Mass Participation Program “Get into Rugby” . In addition to participating in various Asia Rugby Events, it also arranges multiple domestic Competitions at both Senior and Age grade level for Men and Women. It is also providing opportunities and pathway for Women Rugby Players. Pakistan Rugby regularly arranges Training and Development Courses to meet the growing demand for training professionals. Rugby is also part of National Games in Pakistan resulting in over Two Hundred players being employed by Universities and Departments.

Its Member Units include 4 Provincial Associations Punjab, Sind. KPK, Baluchistan, 2 Regional Units Islamabad and FATA, 6 Government Departments, Police, Army, Navy WAPDA (Water and Power Development Authority), Railways and HEC ( Higher Education Commission – Universities) it also has an organised Referee’s Society and Women’s Representation on its Exco.